Capitol Hill

Schar student’s summer internship at Capitol Hill is a slam dunk

Shayla Brown — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 19:38:13 +0000

Schar student’s summer internship at Capitol Hill is a slam dunk Shayla Brown Mon, 07/29/2024 - 15:38

In This Story

Livija Kaktaite started her journey at ��ӽ紫ý in 2018 as an undergraduate global affairs major. This past May, she graduated with her master’s in international security from the Schar School of Policy and Government. During her time as a Patriot, she also played point guard and shooting guard on the women’s basketball team. Now as an alum, she continues to run up the hill—Capitol Hill.

Livija Kaktaite. Photo provided

“I’m currently interning for Representative Ann Wagner from Missouri (R-2nd). I attend [House] Foreign Affairs [Committee] hearings, take notes, and write memos. The best part about this internship is that you get as much out of it as you put in,” said Kaktaite, who is from Lithuania. “You could answer phones and make coffee, or you can be proactive and ask your colleagues ‘How can I help you?’”

Before getting her current position, Kaktaite reached out to a fellow ��ӽ紫ý alum Ted Dubuque, BA International Relations ’22, who is the staff assistant to Rep. Wagner. Dubuque, like Kaktaite, completed the Global Politics Fellows program while at ��ӽ紫ý.

“I wanted to learn about his experience, so we had a call on LinkedIn. He asked if I would want to interview with him for an internship and I ended up getting selected,” said Kaktaite, who also emphasized the importance of networking on Capitol Hill.

Along with her internship, Kaktaite is working with Schar School professor Arnold Dupuy on a NATO Science and Technology organization assignment, which dovetails with her interested in aerospace and security. Dupuy, who was working on multiple projects in the energy security field, gave Kaktaite the opportunity to work as a coordinator on the virtual workshop symposium being held.

Livija Kaktaite on Capitol Hill. Photo provided.

The internship and NATO assignment both provide practical work experience that will help her with her job search in the future.

One of the biggest lessons Kaktaite has learned from her internship so far is how important it is to understand the wide-ranging American perspective, the innerworkings of Congress, and how legislation is made, she said.

“I talk to constituents from Missouri, and I get very polarized opinions. You just have to understand the broad perspectives, needs, and concerns of everyday people,” said Kaktaite.

Following her time on Capitol Hill, Kaktaite will intern at the Lithuanian Embassy where she is participating in a NATO simulation as a representative of her native country.

“All of the participants will submit one page of their priorities and then we try to negotiate with each other and reach consensus. If we reach consensus then three people selected will be able to present it to a group of academics—generals from NATO, people from think tanks, ambassadors,” explained Kaktaite.

Kaktaite came to ��ӽ紫ý with the hopes of being a professional basketball player. She even played professionally in Lithuania earlier this year.

“I played the season, and it just wasn't the same,” said Kaktaite. “I'm way more passionate about international security diplomacy now. I can be more impactful there, and I am able to translate the skills that I learned in basketball, like the importance of teamwork, into my career.”

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internships

Capitol Hill

Mason women's basketball

international students

Students

Mason management professor analyzes debt ceiling negotiations

Colleen Rich — Wed, 24 May 2023 19:48:37 +0000

Mason management professor analyzes debt ceiling negotiations Colleen Rich Wed, 05/24/2023 - 15:48

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Kevin Rockmann

With the U.S. Treasury deadline to raise the debt ceiling just days away, the United States inches closer to a first-ever debt default with possible ramifications for the global economy. Why have negotiations not led to a compromise?

Kevin Rockmann

We asked Kevin Rockmann, professor of management at ��ӽ紫ý's School of Business, and co-author of the book Negotiation: From Conflict to Agreement.

How did we get to this point in the negotiation process?

Thanks to the U.S. system of checks and balances, neither the Speaker McCarthy nor President Biden can truly be seen as the more powerful party in the debt-ceiling negotiations. Each of them holds the hierarchical high ground in a separate sphere. When there is a single, obvious issue on the table (e.g., raising the debt ceiling), such a power dynamic naturally lends itself to a stalemate.

How can negotiators keep the talks on track?

In these situations, the best way to keep things moving forward is to add items for negotiation, turning a single point of contention into a buffet of options from which negotiators can pick and choose. That way, the negotiation can become more nuanced, offering greater scope for compromises that all parties can live with. Indeed, we have seen this in the debt-ceiling talks—with the addition of spending cuts and work requirements as points for debate and discussion.

What role does trust play in the negotiations?

Negotiators must trust each other enough to be honest about which compromises they’d be willing to make. That level of trust is hard to come by in this highly polarized political environment. Biden and McCarthy are all too aware that any concession would be interpreted as a sign of weakness by their respective voter bases.

What if negotiations fail?

A default is in no one’s best interest. And while Biden could invoke the 14th Amendment, he can’t be sure of vindication in the legal furor that would surely ensue.

So what is likely to happen?

I anticipate that the outcome of these current negotiations will be—no lasting outcome at all. The two politicians will find a face-saving way to kick the can down the road, by agreeing to raise the debt ceiling for now and postpone the larger conversation by, say, six months to a year.

How can this be prevented in the future

Lifting the deadlock and achieving real progress will occur only when the matter is transferred to bipartisan groups such as the centrist “Gang of Ten” in the Senate, who, after several rounds of failed negotiations, brokered a compromise infrastructure bill in 2021. Cooperative pockets such as these may be Washington, D.C.’s last bastion of creative compromise—an essential last resort of realpolitik.

Rockmann can be reached at krockman@gmu.edu.

For more information, contact Benjamin Kessler at bkessler@gmu.edu.

About ��ӽ紫ý

��ӽ紫ý is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls nearly 40,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Mason has grown rapidly over the last half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity, and commitment to accessibility. In 2023, the university launched Mason Now: Power the Possible, a $1 billion comprehensive campaign to support student success, research, innovation, community, and sustainability. Learn more at www.gmu.edu.

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Tip Sheet

Costello College of Business

Capitol Hill

Costello College of Business News

‘How Washington Really Works’: A Collaborative Class with the University of Pennsylvania

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 21:05:14 +0000

‘How Washington Really Works’: A Collaborative Class with the University of Pennsylvania Andrew J Schappert Tue, 12/07/2021 - 16:05

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Steven Pearlstein

Steven Pearlstein. Photo by Creative Services

A first-ever course taught by political insiders arrives during the spring 2022 semester that will help students understand how politics is accomplished in the nation’s capital. And it takes place on Capitol Hill.

GOVT 467: Issues in Economic Policy—also known as “How Washington Really Works”—features Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist and Mason Robinson Professor of Public Affairs Steven Pearlstein and Zeke Emmanuel, former health care advisor for President Obama and now the vice provost for global initiatives and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

Emmanuel, Pearlstein said, “thought it would be fun to teach a course about how Washington really works and he suggested we do it together. I said, that's a great idea but there's a little problem: Your school is in Pennsylvania and my school is in Virginia.”

As it happens, Penn operates the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement on Constitution Avenue, just blocks from the Capitol. The idea, Pearlstein said, was that “we could teach the course in Washington and we could have the students from Penn come south and the ones from [Mason] come north.”

Zeke Emmanuel. Photo by Candace di Carlo

The Friday classes will feature special speakers who will elaborate on insights of eight case studies the course will explore. Cases range from the 1957 Civil Rights Act to welfare reform to Obamacare. According to the course description, “policy debates, political dealing, and the motivations and ambitions of politicians and policy makers will be examined, along with the roles of interest groups, think-tanks, and the media.” (Lunch and Metro fare will be provided to each student.)

In the final weeks, students working in groups of politically like-minded colleagues, will be tasked with creating comprehensive and politically-realistic policy proposals related to immigration, poverty, and taxes.

“Our aim is for [students] to not be cynical about how policy is made but to be realistic,” Pearlstein said of the goal of the course.

Ultimately, students will understand how public policy is achieved when stakeholders have competing interests.

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Government

public administration

Capitol Hill

Schar School News December 2021